The birth of Orange Krate...

[SwedeandBlondie]

Don't know how we missed this thread. Congrats to a fellow 11/15-er.

We are waiting, not very patiently, for the delivery to the dealer. Looking like it'll be Monday.......

[speedster]

Originally Posted by Orange Krate

Orange Krate was the name of a Schwinn bicycle in the mid 1960s. I had one of the first Orange Krate style bicycles and it was on that bike that I started my first business as a newpaper carrier at the age of 12. I loved that bike but outgrew it with the expansion of my paper route from 1 to 3 different routes at the same time. (I guess I understood "growth" as a business even at that young age)

Originally Posted by Orange Krate

Here is the unofficial birth certificate drafted up for Orange Krate. It recognizes three individuals who were instrumental in the development, creation and promotion of the Gen 5 Camaro.

Sunyap Lee - Chief Designer
Al Oppenheiser - Chief Engineer
Scott Settlemire (aka FBodFather) - Manager: Chevrolet (Camaro) Shows and Exhibits

This is such a cool background and story to getting your new Camaro aptly named Orange Krate.

The wait is almost over. Your new ride will be home shortly.
Your enthusiasm is infectious. Keep the excitement rolling and get ready to enjoy the new "Camaro Lifestyle".

[super60]

Jim

I was down in Chassis ( final rolloff ) on the 22nd doing some audits and i did check out a few IOM's Maybe just Maybe i did an audit of your new Orange Krate I do know for a fact that C5 member " ORANGENL " would have been one of the last members of the build team to touch your Camaro

Thank You so much for your enthusiasm for your new Oshawa Built Camaro . I know i can speak for the entire Oshawa Build Crew in saying Thank You for supporting GM , we wish you all the best and please keep us updated with pictures when the new family addition arrives.

Mike Judge
Super60

[Orange Krate]

Originally Posted by andredmg

Bayed and ready for shipment, is that at the port, railyard or Canada? If you lived in New Mexico, Texas or Colorado Id personnally get that badboy out to you, WORD (GM Supplier Car Hauler) lol. Congrats man and it will be worth the wait trust me.

THANKS ANDREDMG!!! It is bayed in Canada at railhead as best I can tell. Still reading through the thread. You are a good man. BTW...I am starting to train for my CDL. I won't drive commercially for a living but I do need it in my job! Trucking is awesome. "10-4" Magazine just came to my office and shot photos of our rigs and they are writing a story that may come out in Jan/Feb issue!!!! I will post up later if that happens!

Thanks again.
Jim

[Orange Krate]

Originally Posted by SwedeandBlondie

Don't know how we missed this thread. Congrats to a fellow 11/15-er.

We are waiting, not very patiently, for the delivery to the dealer. Looking like it'll be Monday.......

Thanks Swede and Blondie (Frank and Kim)!
It is so exciting to have these cars be reality in our lives. My wife is not so much a car person although she is drooling over the CLS 500 Mercedes. We are a little over a year out from our 25th wedding anniversary and who knows what she might just receive?!?! But one thing for sure... Erica is going to have some fun times with me and Orange Krate...pix and news at 11:00!!! HA HA

Best wishes to you both out there in MD! Stay warm!

Jim (and Erica)

[Orange Krate]

Originally Posted by speedster

This is such a cool background and story to getting your new Camaro aptly named Orange Krate.

The wait is almost over. Your new ride will be home shortly.
Your enthusiasm is infectious. Keep the excitement rolling and get ready to enjoy the new "Camaro Lifestyle".

Enthusiasm, creativity and mission...isn't that what produces and sells Camaros? Yes sirrrreeeeee! Truth be known... I had a 1923 Model T Roadster with a 500 HP 396 cu in Chevy big block in it. I was a member of the Roam'n Relics Car Club here in Simi Valley. Was a club officer (Vice President) one year and managed the charity runs. I was also their newsletter Editor and Publisher for a number of years. That was, and is, one excellent Car Club! Fortunately and unfortunately my Camaro is not OLD IRON!

I look forward to doing more to raise money for charity with Orange Krate. I will do whatever I can to specifically help kids and those who are really sick, down and out. I am driven as Orange Krate will be!

[Orange Krate]

Originally Posted by super60

Jim

I was down in Chassis ( final rolloff ) on the 22nd doing some audits and i did check out a few IOM's Maybe just Maybe i did an audit of your new Orange Krate I do know for a fact that C5 member " ORANGENL " would have been one of the last members of the build team to touch your Camaro

Thank You so much for your enthusiasm for your new Oshawa Built Camaro . I know i can speak for the entire Oshawa Build Crew in saying Thank You for supporting GM , we wish you all the best and please keep us updated with pictures when the new family addition arrives.

Mike Judge
Super60

Mike,
Thank you so much for this particular entry into my journal. There can never be enough credit to the men and women behind the scenes that keep the "Mother Ship" humming. It takes a finely oiled machine to run smoothly and keep product moving out the other end. I very much appreciate your time, attention and comments on this blog as I know you are one busy individual with alot on his plate. I share my Camaro 5 and Orange Krate production stories with my crew at work in hopes that our team continues with the same type of energy, motivation and success that the Oshawa family is leading the way with for GM. My team received "Employees of the Month" and "Employees of the Year" status here at the County of Los Angeles. I am as proud of them as I am my family and yours!

Bless you all and be safe!

Jim and Erica

PS - if you need a warm sweater or coat let me know! It is way down in the low 60's here in So Cal!!! Brrrrrrrrr!

[the rich dude]

I'm VERY EXCITED for you!!!

I can't wait to be going threw the excitement that you have been going threw once I finally order my car wich will probably be the beginning of the New Year

I have already spent a small fortune on things I want to put on my car like Full Vortech YSI package from Jannetty, Kooks Exaust, Air Lift Suspension and D2 Wheels. So that has been tieing me over for now.

Are you planning on doing anything to your car or just going to enjoy it the way it comes?

[Orange Krate]

Originally Posted by the rich dude

I'm VERY EXCITED for you!!!

I can't wait to be going threw the excitement that you have been going threw once I finally order my car wich will probably be the beginning of the New Year

I have already spent a small fortune on things I want to put on my car like Full Vortech YSI package from Jannetty, Kooks Exaust, Air Lift Suspension and D2 Wheels. So that has been tieing me over for now.

Are you planning on doing anything to your car or just going to enjoy it the way it comes?

Thanks for stopping Rich! First out of the box is match painting the Ground Effects. Then it is going to have ghost pearl gold stripes painted. I actually posted some photos of my desired stripes earlier today on the TPW 11/15 thread.

I am ordering a dashmat immediately as they have saved all the dashes in my cars. I am waiting to really drive the car before I decide on exhaust and CAI. Since I live in the god-forsaken State of California, the upgrades may be limited due to the "SMOG SHACKLES". It is hard to find stuff that is now CARB compliant with the new laws going into effect. I see Cali guys modding their cars and wonder how they are going to beat the SMOG POLICE now.

I am a fairly safety concious person so I might tackle so sort of mirror signals.

I want to save my warranty for as long as I can without voiding anything due to "modification".

Good luck on your pursuit and obsession! LOL

PS - I am probably going to upgrade wheels but I am shopping for something unique and killer!

[Orange Krate]

Our two little loves... Bandit and Wee Wee!

http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showpo...&postcount=600

[sonson2776]

Originally Posted by Orange Krate

Now that I have a start on my blog...

I am pleased to announce that FINALLY after waiting 5 years reading, wishing, working...working...and working more, my wife and I went down to the local Chevy dealership today, plopped down some cash and submitted our specs for the new baby! Orange Krate's order should be submitted tomorrow morning by the dealer! As I texted to my peeps... "I AM STOKED!!!!"

Orange Krate will be a 2011 (obviously) SS/RS, LS3, HUD, IOM/IO interior, Hurst, Orange Engine Cover, Ground Effects, 20" polished wheels... pretty much all the gingerbread, sans the sun roof, as I am well over 6 feet and need the head room. We loved our test drive! I was really surprised at the power of this beastie.

Oh BTW... did I tell you I am friggin' STOKED!!!! Now the countdown begins and I will be restless until my baby comes home.

As part of this blog I thought I would give a few comments about our experience and perhaps help someone out that hasn't bought a new car yet. This is the first one we have ever ordered from the factory. We have bought new vehicles off the lot but never ordered one.

Many people are impulse buyers. I am! I had to restrain myself and with my wife's help we decided to just order what I want and quit looking for the elusive IOM with specific attributes.

First...visit the Chevrolet website http://www.chevrolet.com and build your car online (several dozen times like I did) and memorize it until you know the cars options inside and out.

Then visit as many dealers as you can and if you are a frequent visitor/member of this website, print out some of those neat wallet cards and talk to sales people and tell them about the site and how awesome the info is here for new car owners and would be buyers. I think I have been to about 12 dealerships between Sacramento and Carlsbad, California. I tried not to be a pest (accept for Dave Perry who put up with me).

When order day comes printout your cars build sheet from the chevrolet.com website and take it with you to the dealer you have decided to do business with and talk in depth with them about your choices. They should know the cars options by now since we are in the second year of production. If they haven't sold many Camaros you may have a chance to tell them some stuff they don't even know about the car! I LOVE CAMARO5.COM!!! Refer to the Reference Section for RPO numbers etc. YOU FOLKS ARE GREAT!

Finally, GUTS! Put the money where the heart is and go for it. This economy is scary for everyone but this is one purchase I can say I will not have buyer's remorse over, even if I only owned the car for one day! Heaven forbid! It is better to have had a Gen 5 and lost it than not had it at all. After giving up my 1969, they are going to have to pry the Hurst shifter out of my cold dead hand to get my Gen 5 away from me!

Then after making your deposit and securing an order make sure you read the section on tracking your order! I am looking forward to this part of the transaction, build out and delivery.

Owning a quality car, keeping it up, driving it, enjoying it, documenting everything is what makes a car a classic keeper! It may not make it a collectible but lightning can strike twice and although I have heard debate in the Forum over people saying these are the next Yenko's and such... there are ways to protect your investment and make it retain maximum value. Even if it were a Yugo! Hey... just being a Camaro is value added right?

The photo below is a photo of the two gentlemen who assisted us in the new baby order. I want to give a special thanks and shout out to Mr. Dave Perry, Customer Relations Manager (dressed in black) at William L. Morris Chevrolet in Simi Valley. He literally spent hours, on several days, over several months, talking with me and introducing me to the people behind the scenes at the dealership. The other gent is Mr. Chris Caumartin who took my deposit and drafted and submitted the Chevrolet Order Workbench. You can see additional info about this process, comments and photos in my photo section.

If you are in the So Cal area you might want to give them a jingle if you want to buy a vehicle or RV. They swear they won't be undersold. So far so good! The dealer agreed to let me document the purchasing and delivery process starting with me writing out a check for the deposit!

Congrats on the new Camaro. I'm too new to this tread after seeing the new style of the Camaro and got excited to realize that after making my last payment on my suv for the last 6 yrs that I'm gonna save up hopefully for a 2012 IBM with grey interior. I already went to chevrolet website and made out a list of what excatly I would like to have added on my new car that is within my budget. Seeing that your from southern cali just like I and seeing the dealership you went to gives me more ambition. Once again congrats on your new baby....

[Orange Krate]

Originally Posted by sonson2776

Congrats on the new Camaro. I'm too new to this tread after seeing the new style of the Camaro and got excited to realize that after making my last payment on my suv for the last 6 yrs that I'm gonna save up hopefully for a 2012 IBM with grey interior. I already went to chevrolet website and made out a list of what excatly I would like to have added on my new car that is within my budget. Seeing that your from southern cali just like I and seeing the dealership you went to gives me more ambition. Once again congrats on your new baby....

I will email you my reply in the event you do not make it back to this thread because there is so much to read and do and you can get lost.

Sonson, first of all welcome! And congrats on choosing a Camaro! I, like many others have been following this car since its inception. I remember first seeing an animated feature of a "2005" Red Camaro prototype that had an alcohol blower on it coming down a tunnel like structure and burning the tires just before you see it emerge. That hooked me when I saw that concept. It is probably still on Youtube but I couldnt find it on a quick search.

Flash ahead to 2008 when I saw a real prototype posted and then I knew my wallet was destined to unload on this beauty. I literally went to about a dozen dealers and asked questions. Sat in the car, test drove them, looked at features and chose to better my financial position by one year and wait for the economy to look a bit rosier before I plopped the down payment. I was glad I waited because the 2011 had the HUD and HURST both of which I find desireable. T

he next thing is to get the car here so I can DRIVE it and baby it. Please feel free to come back and read my journal as it unfolds. Also, don't forget to get yourself some FREE "welcome cards" (business style) at the front end of the forum, print them out, invite Camaro owners you see or meet to look up the website and also give them to Chevy salespeople. I have tried to get as many Chevy dealers as I can to learn this site so they can pass it on to potential clients.

This site rocks as does our new breed of Camaro! Best of luck and thanks for your comments! Be safe.

[bossbunny]

GETTTTING CLOSERRRRR!!!

[2010 SS RS]

Congrats from the whole ChevroletConnects team....formerly Camarotracking, Sometimes we look to our beginnings and our fellow Camaro brothers and sisters for the motivation to keep us going, to strive for improvements to our service....And your blog has proven to be that for me this morning. After working all thru the holiday weekend with our IT guy Bryan and fellow team members Hylton and Lisa, reading your blog was the highlight of my holiday.

Take care Orange Krate, and congrats on your new Camaro. Larry